Shoemaker&#39;s stitching awl



Feb. 23, 1937. J. R. RICKETTS 1 2,071,901

v SHOEMAKERS STITCHING AWL Filed Jan. 11, 1955 v I l 13 I ll 1 E15. ,5,

24 SECCNDARY z y PR/MARy "(SOLE PER WEL I VENTO T ORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 23, 1937 SHOEMAKERS eATNT OFFICE STITGHING AWL James R.Ricketts, Oakland, cane 1 Application January 11, 1935, Serial No. 1,391

2 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in stitching awlsand has particular reference to a shoemakers stitching awl for producinga lock stitch in the welt, upper and insole of a shoe and is especiallyuseful in repair work wherein it is desired to securely stitch theseparts of the shoe together by hand.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a compact awl forthe purpose of producing a lock stitch in shoes which embodies a bobbinand a needle so arranged as to enable the shoemaker to quickly andeasily stitch the welt, upper and insole of the shoe together in a mosteffective manner.

Another object of the invention is to produce a stitching awl of theclass designated that is extremely simple in construction and that ismost effective in operation, and onethat saves time and labor for theshoemaker in hand repair work.

A further object of the invention is to produce a stitching awl of thischaracter that includes a bobbin which folds into the handle of thedevice when the awl is in operation and that may be readily swung out ofthe handle for rethreading 25 purposes.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals 30 are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

Fig. l is a bottom plan view of a shoe with the sole removed andillustrates the method of starting the lock stitch through the welt,upper and 35 insole of the shoe,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the stitching awl showing the hollow handlesection, bobbin and needle set into the end of the awl,

Fig. 3 is a side view of the same partly in sec- 40 tion and illustratesthe bobbin recess with the bobbin in operative position therein andfurther illustrating the hooked needle of the device,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the welt, upper and insole of ashoe andillustrates the method of 45 using the awl in producing the lock stitch,and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the completed lock stitch throughthe various parts of the shoe.

In the shoe repairing trade it is often desirable 50 to repair the solesof shoes by hand in that shoe machines are not always available for thispurpose and, besides, handwork of this character is,

bobbin for carrying the thread, which bobbin is handily arranged in thehandle of the device to feed the thread while the awl is in use inproducing the desired lock-stitch.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, my improved awl consists of a handlesection 6 having a recess 7 formed therein, said recess being open atone side as indicated by the numeral 8. A slot 9 is formed in a portionof the handle and accommodates the looped end ll] of the bobbin H, whichbobbin may be formed of wire and may be swung on its pivot l2 out of therecess 1 by means of a handle l3. It will be noted that the enlarged orlooped section of the handle I3 serves to retain the thread on thebobbin II and to normally keep said thread from unwinding therefromexcept when an additional section of the thread is required in thestitching operation of the awl. In the operation of repairing shoes thethread I4 is threaded through a perforation H) in the end of the handleand a section thereof is wound about the bobbin, said bobbin being swungout of the recess for this purpose. An elongated neck section I6 extendsfrom the handle and is provided with a needle socket ll into which theshank of the needle I8 is fitted which needle is securely held in placeby means of a small set screw l9 tapped into the section IS. The needleI8 is comparatively sharp at its outer end and is provided with a hook20 for the purpose of drawing the thread through the shoe parts ashereinafter more fully set forth.

In the art of repairing shoe soles the worn sections are first strippedaway, and as indicated in Figure l, the welt 2! is then app-lied totheedge of the upper 22 and to the insole 23. The awl needle it is thenforced through these parts and aloo-ped section 24 of the thread isplaced in the hook 20 of the needle and the awl is then drawn outthrough the shoe, carrying with it the looped thread, as clearly shownin Fig. 1.

The awl is then inserted through this loop carrying with it thecontinuous thread from the bobbin and the loose or slack section of thethread is then drawn taut to draw the loop against the welt whichoperation forms a section of the lock stitch. This operation is repeatedby inserting the needle through the shoe and drawing the thread throughthe. various parts thereof, the spacing of the stitches about the shoebeing accomplished by virtue of the trained eye of the operator.

It will be noted that the section I6 is provided with an extension I9.This particular extension In Fig. 4 I have illustrated diagrammaticallythe operation of the awl in forming the lock stitch and in Figure 5 thecompleted lock stitch has been shown.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is tobe taken as a preferred example of the same and .thatvarious changes relative to the material,

size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoinedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, means for producing a lock stitchin shoes, comprising a handle section having a recess formed therein, apivoted bobbin arranged to swing into and out of said recess, and ahooked needle arranged in one end of said handle and adapted to producethe looped section of said lock stitch.

2. A device of the class described for producing a lock-stitch throughthe welt, upper and insole of shoes comprising a handle having a recessformed therein, a pivoted bobbin adapted to swing into and out of saidrecess for carrying the stitching thread, said bobbin having a loopedend, and a stitching needle embodying a thread engaging hook forproducing the loop sections of said lock stitch.

. JAMES R. RICKE'I'IS.

